More info needed on possible middle school donation

City manager getting pay increase

ByJENNI GRUBBS Times Staff Writer

Posted:
07/17/2013 02:02:32 PM MDT

Mike Lee, the chief financial officer?for the Fort Morgan School District, explains to the Fort Morgan City Council at their regular meeting Tuesday why the school board had asked if the Fort Morgan Middle School building would be a good addition to the city. The school district is trying to pass a bond issue to pay for part of building a new middle school, but part of being able to get most of the funding for it from the state would be figuring out what to do with the old building, Lee said. School board members Rob Carruth, seated at left, and Rogelio Segura, not pictured, also were at the meeting. (Jenni Grubbs/Fort Morgan Times)

The Fort Morgan City Council, on Tuesday, directed City Manager Jeff Wells to look into how the city could make use of the current Fort Morgan Middle School building and related costs should voters approve a bond issue to build a new school for the Fort Morgan School District.

But before giving that direction, the council heard from the school district's chief finance officer, Mike Lee, about why the city was being asked to consider the possible donation of the building.

Lee told the council that the school board "was not jumping to any conclusions" about decisions that would be made by the council members.

"It seemed like a natural fit from our perspective," Lee said, but added that all of the plans were "very preliminary."

He explained that the school district had the opportunity to potentially receive state Build Excellent Schools Today, or BEST, funding to construct a new middle school, but only if voters approved a bond issue to pay for 30 percent of the estimated $35 million cost.

Lee said that a cost like that was "beyond our capacity" without another funding source, such as the BEST money.

Further, he pointed out that while the middle school building may no longer meet the needs of a school, it could serve many other purposes.

He said that it is no longer suited to education for reasons that include having too many entrances and exits that create safety concerns and not having the electric wiring needed for all the technology now used in schools.

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Councilman Ron Shaver asked Lee what "major dilapidations" the building had that would need to be addressed by its next owner.

Not surprisingly, updating the building's electrical system was at the top of his list, which also included addressing accessibility issues, such as elevator that likely needs to be replaced.

But he also pointed out that the gymnasium, auditorium and kitchen are all used regularly by groups from the city and are in decent or good shape.

Still, if structural changes needed to be made, Lee said that asbestos that currently is mitigated and contained likely would become an issue.

Wells asked Lee if the school district had any other options besides donating it to the city should the bond issue pass.

Lee said that the district had a variety of options that were being considered, including selling it to "another interested party," but that the school board also was trying to make sure taxpayers continued to benefit from their long-term investment in the building and were able to continue to make use of its facilities.

"For us as a community to try to replace (those facilities), the dollars are not there," he said.

Donating the building to the city would be the "easiest transition" from district's perspective, but it was "by no means the single option," Lee said.

Mayor Terry McAlister said he was concerned about the costs of repairs to the building if the city took it on.

"Do taxpayers have to pay for two buildings or one?" he questioned of the scenario where the district got the bond issue and the city accepted the donation, meaning taxpayers were paying both to build a new middle school and to renovate the old one.

The mayor asked Wells to start looking at possible uses and costs for the city of such a donation.

Also, Councilman Scott Bryan, seeking to quell rumors about the building becoming a new recreation or community center, pointed out that the presentation Tuesday night was the first time the council had heard about or discussed anything related to the possible donation to the city of the middle school.

Other action

The council also:

Approved a 2.2 percent pay raise for City Manager Jeff Wells, who had received a satisfactory evaluation from council in recent weeks that he called "very thorough and fair." Bryan pointed out that while the council may not have had stated goals for Wells, the city manager had dealt with "a huge amount of things" over the last couple years and "was given direction and performed very well." The 2.2 percent raise Wells was given was at the top level, but no higher than what any other city employee received in the last performance evaluation cycle.

Approved on second reading an ordinance amending Chapter 2 of the Fort Morgan Municipal Code after holding a public hearing on the changes, which included allowing those sentenced to community service in Municipal Court to buy out the sentence, at the municipal judge's discretion, and eliminating redundant and unnecessary portions of much of the municipal elections section; no one spoke for or against the ordinance at the hearing.

Approved bids for all of the vehicle and heavy equipment purchases, construction project materials and construction project contracts that were on the agenda.

Acting as the Board of Adjustment, held a public hearing and then approved a conditional variance for the required setback of a carport at 325 E. Riverview Ave. that was constructed without the appropriate building permit; the owner now must get that permit and have an inspection done in order to keep the carport.

Approved on first reading an ordinance that would amend the 2012 city budget so that there would be no budget violations in its audit, which is getting close to completion, according to City Treasurer Jeanne Kinney. She explained that the amendment was necessary because of "things that we really couldn't predict," including higher costs for purchasing power coupled with a much hotter summer and other underestimated expenses in the Light & Power Department. She said this $3.1 million budget difference was partially offset by uncompleted capital improvement projects in that department, leaving a $2.2 million budget amendment to the Electric Fund. The proposed ordinance also included a reduction of $393,281 in the General Fund, which Kinney said mistakenly had been taken off the revenue line, instead of the expense line.

Heard a presentation from Sam Mamet, executive director of the Colorado Municipal League, who spoke about what the league provides and a city like Fort Morgan's role in it.

Heard presentations as part of the 2014 Budget Calendar about proposed capital improvement expenditures for the Water Fund and the Sewer Fund.

Approved the consent agenda, which included the disbursements and payroll for June, the minutes of the June 25 special council meeting and the minutes of the July 2 regular council meeting.

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